Industrial and Environmental
Chemistry Presentation
Ammonia Production
Done by:
• Roberto Sam
• Gregorio Ack
• Lloyd Lucero
Time Line for ammonia production
• Ammonia has been known for more than 200 years.
• Joseph Priestley, an English chemist, first isolated gaseous ammonia in
1774.
• Its composition was ascertained by French chemist Claude Louis
Berthollet in 1785.
• In 1898, Adolph Frank and Nikodem Caro found that N2could be fixed
by calcium carbide to form calcium cyanamide, which could then be
hydrolyzed with water to form ammonia (2):
• CaO + 3C ↔ CaC2 + CO
• CaC2 + N2 ↔ CaCN2 + C
• CaCN2 + 3H2O ↔ CaCO3 + 2NH3
History
• Before the start of World War I, most ammonia was obtained by
the dry distillation of nitrogenous vegetable and animal
products; by the reduction of nitrous acid and nitrites with
hydrogen; and also by the decomposition of ammonium salts by
alkaline hydroxides or by quicklime, the salt most generally
used being the chloride (sal-ammoniac).
• Today, most ammonia is produced on a large scale by the
Haber process with capacities of up to 3,300 tonnes per day. In
this process, N2 and H2 gases are allowed to react at
pressures of 200 bar.
History
• Ammonia is one of the most highly produced inorganic
chemicals. There are numerous large-scale ammonia
production plants worldwide, producing a total of 131 million
tonnes of nitrogen (equivalent to 159 million tonnes of
ammonia) in 2010.
• China produced 32.1% of the worldwide production, followed by
India with 8.9%, Russia with 7.9%, and the United States with
6.3%.
History
• The production of significant quantities of ammonia using the cyanamide
process did not occur until the early 20th century. Because this process required
large amounts of energy, scientists focused their efforts on reducing energy
requirements.
• German chemist Fritz Haber performed some of the most important work in the
development of the modern ammonia industry. Working with a student at the
Univ. of Karlsruhe, he synthesized ammonia in the laboratory from N2 and H2.
• Meanwhile, Walther Nernst, a professor of physical chemistry at the Univ. of
Berlin, developed a process to make ammonia by passing a mixture of N2 and
H2 across an iron catalyst at 1,000°C and 75 barg pressure. He was able to
produce larger quantities of ammonia at this pressure than earlier experiments
by Haber and others at atmospheric pressure. However, Nernst concluded that
the process was not feasible because it was difficult or almost impossible (at
that time) to produce large equipment capable of operating at that pressure.
History
• Haber and Nernst pursued the high-pressure route to produce ammonia over a
catalyst. Haber finally developed a process for producing commercial quantities of
ammonia, and in 1906 he was able to achieve a 6% ammonia concentration in a
reactor loaded with an osmium catalyst. This is generally recognized as the turning
point in the development of a practical process for the production of ammonia in
commercial quantities.
• Haber realized that the amount of ammonia formed in a single pass through a
converter was far too low to be of commercial interest. To produce more ammonia from
the makeup gas, he proposed a recycle system, and received a patent for the concept.
Haber’s recycle idea changed the perception of process engineering as static in favor
of a more dynamic approach. In addition to the chemical reaction equilibrium, Haber
recognized that reaction rate was a determining factor. Instead of simple yield in a
once-through process, he concentrated on space-time yield in a system with recycle.
• Most people associate the pungent smell of ammonia (NH3) with
cleaners or smelling salts. However, the use of ammonia in these two
products represents only a small fraction of the total global ammonia
production, which was around 176 million metric tons in 2014 (1). To
appreciate where the industry and technology are today, let’s first
take a look at how we got here.
Statistics
Annual production of ammonia
• Ammonia ranks second to sulfuric acid--chemical with largest
tonnage.
• Increasingly made in countries which have low cost sources
of natural gas and coal (China and Russia account
for ca 40%)
• largest plants produce about 3000 tonnes a day and there
are plans to build plants that produce 4000-5000 tonnes a
day, which would mean that the total world output could be
managed with 100 such units.
Statistics
Current Production
World
146 million tonnes
China
48 million tonnes
Russia
12 million tonnes
India
11 million tonnes
U.S.
9 million tonnes
Indonesia
5 million tonnes
Trinidad and Tobago
5 million tonnes
Ukraine
4 million tonnes
Data from:
U.S. Geological Survey, Mineral Commodity Summaries, 2016.
The increase in tonnage
of ammonia made is just
keeping pace with the
increasing world
population and with its
increasing standard of
living.
Statistics
It is expected that
the demand for
ammonia will
increase to nearly
200 million tonnes
by 2018 as stated
by the International
Fertilizer
Association, 2014.
Global Production Rates
Uses of Ammonia
 Manufacture of fertilizers- most
important use of ammonia.
 Include urea, ammonium salts
(ammonium phosphates,
ammonium nitrate, calcium
ammonium nitrate) and
solutions of ammonia.
 An increasing amount of
ammonia is used as a
concentrated solution in
combating the discharge of
nitrogen oxides from power
stations.
Ammonia plant in
Western Australia
1 Desulfurisation units
2 Primary reformer
3 High temperature and low
temperature shift reactors
4 Carbon dioxide absorber
5 Carbon dioxide stripper
(recovery of the pure
solvent, ethanolamine)
6 Ammonia converter
7 Ammonia storage as liquid
8 Pipeline to the ship for
export
By kind permission of Yara International ASA.
In a plant in Western
Australia, the ammonia is
transferred by pipeline to a
nearby harbour (Figure 2,
step 8) and transported by
ship. This one is carrying
about 40 000 tonnes of
liquefied ammonia.
Ammonia Plant
Haber Process
• This process involves the combination of atmospheric nitrogen and
hydrogen from a natural gas/ fossil fuel (usually methane).
• It uses an iron catalysts (Fe3O4) , high pressure and at relatively high
temperature.
• This is a reversible reaction .
Effects of ammonia
• There is not very much on the danger it poses to the environment.
• By producing ammonia in plants the emissions contain green house
gases, leading to an increase in greenhouse effect and the eventually
global warming.
• Liquid ammonia can spill and leak/leach in to water sources, causing
eutrophication that ultimately results in loss of biodiversity.
• Ammonia gas can escape from the reactor and when inhaled causes
burns sensation within the respiratory track.
• https://www.ceh.ac.uk/news-and-media/news/leaking-ammonialeading-biodiversity-loss-and-health-risks-new-themed-volume
• https://toxtown.nlm.nih.gov/chemicals-and-contaminants/ammonia
• https://www.chemguide.co.uk/physical/equilibria/haber.html